Anyway, I found several other dessert recipes (ALWAYS dessert with me!) And here are the ones I made:
Robin Egg Cake
This one is from Deals to Meals. She says its vanilla flavored, but it has almond flavoring in it too, and I think it tastes more like almond. Maybe because I forgot to put the vanilla in the frosting too (oops!) It was still delicious. Olivia loved it. I had another recipe that was similar, but it had strawberries in it, and since she is anti-fruit, we didn't make it.
1 package white cake mix
1 cup flour
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup milk or buttermilk (I used the homemade version: milk with lemon juice in it)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ½ teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 Tbsp egg whites ( or egg whites from 4 eggs)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees, spray 2 9-inch round pans, line with parchment paper and spray the paper too.
Stir together the white cake mix, flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.Pour in the water, milk, sour cream, vegetable oil, almond and vanilla extracts, and egg whites, and beat with an electric mix on low until all the ingredients are mixed and moistened.
Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans, and bake in the preheated oven until the top is a light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes. I think mine took longer. The recipe said 20-25 but that wasn't nearly enough time. Maybe my oven is dying.....Allow to cool before frosting.
Buttercream Frosting
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 stick salted butter
*You want the butter not super cold but not quite room temperature either, if its too soft the frosting wont pipe properly. You want it just to the point that you can press a finger into it and it will indent but not push through easily.
4 ounces cream cheese
2 Tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar ( I used Kroger brand, the recipe said you could only use C&H or it'd be gritty - whatever - We ate it and no one complained of grittiness)
Directions from the original recipe follow - I pretty much followed the. Didn't time it exactly, but I did A LOT of beating. I had to stop in the middle at making it too and stuck it back in the fridge, so I don't know how that affected the temp. of the butter:
In a medium size bowl beat butter until it almost turns white, approx 7 minutes. This is the crucial first steps so watch the color change carefully depending on the speed of your mixer it could take longer. Add the cream cheese, heavy cream, and vanilla extract and beat again for another 3-5 minutes. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time beating 2-3 minutes in between each cup. All the beating is a pain, but well worth it in the end! Pipe on to cupcakes or frost a cake! This is enough to do a 2 layer cake.
Robin Egg Topping
1 Tbs. Cocoa powder
Vanilla extract
Coconut flakes - about 1/3 cup ( I didn't measure)
Mix the cocoa powder with enough vanilla to make a runny paint- I think it took about 3 Tbsp of vanilla - lots more than I expected. "Holding a small arts and craft paint brush with one hand, gently flick the bristles with your other index finger to splatter the chocolate paint. Practice first onto a piece of paper towel or wax paper until you get the hang of it. When you have practices for a bit you’re ready to start speckling, hold the paintbrush fairly close to the cake and start splattering."
When the cake is all splattered, add enough coconut to make a nest to the rest of the "paint" and mix to color the coconut. Arrange the coconut into a next and top with eggs- I used white and blue Whopper Robin Eggs, and some Palmer chocolate eggs. The large egg is 2 half peanut butter Palmer eggs stuck together.
I made 2 other desserts too and for the sake of completeness and so I don't have to look for them again here they are: (Both are from Just A Pinch)
Easter Knot Cookies (or Anise Sugar Cookies)
2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 c sugar
6 eggs
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp anise extract
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
8 c sifted flour
6 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
BUTTER ICING RECIPE
3 -4 cups powdered sugar
1 stick butter
1 tsp anise extract
milk
food coloring
Cream butter and sugar. Add the eggs, milk, anise and vanilla. Add salt and baking powder and mix until combined. Slowly add the flour. Grease cookie sheets. Roll dough into 1/2” logs and form into knots. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Allow to cool until barely warm. Dunk in icing and let dry.
To make butter icing, combine sugar and butter. Add anise. Slowly add milk to desired consistency. Add food coloring of your choice.
Springtime S'mores
These were Myles favorite of the 3 desserts. I thought they were a little too gooey, and I don't think I liked the white chocolate I used. - I used Private Selection. Maybe next time I will try the Ghiradelli as suggested. I had to add A LOT more marshmallows that the original recipe said. We doubled the recipe and added the entire bag, minus the handful Adria and Genna ate.
1/2 c heavy whipping cream
12 oz (1 bag) white chocolate morsels (Ghiradelli is best)
about 3 cups miniature colored marshmallows
1 box (9 oz) shortbread cookies
LINE 9-inch-square baking pan with heavy-duty foil. (I sprayed mine too - maybe that wasn't a good choice?) Break cookies into small bite-size pieces.
Heat cream in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until bubbles appear around edges. Remove from heat. Add white chocolate; stir until smooth. Cool, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 12 minutes.
Add marshmallows; stir to coat. Gently stir in cookie pieces until combined.
Spread mixture into prepared pan; press down lightly. Refrigerate until set or cover and let set on the counter. Cut into bars.
**Variation** I didn't try this one, but found a similar recipe that used 3 1/2 cups marshmallows, milk chocolate chips, and 7 1/2 oz chocolate covered graham crackers broken into pieces.
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